Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Leather, antlers, jade...

The things produced in these mountains are not valued much by Halimu and other people who have been herding for generations. But for people like Tursun who have entered the system, frequently move around in the county, and have some understanding of market prices, these are good things that can be exchanged for money!
As the captain of the pastoral team, what he collected from the herders throughout the year, or what the herders gave him to make their work easier, was definitely much more than what Li Long got!

Most herdsmen are not aware of and do not pay much attention to these things. They usually use them as gifts or for their own use.

In about ten years, it will be more common for herders living near the mountains to sell the things they pick up. At this time, this concept does not exist yet.

Tuerxun didn't pay much attention to this small tribe. After all, there were only a dozen herdsmen in the tribe, while the herdsmen in his team had hundreds of herdsmen. This was nothing. The reason why this tribe caught his attention was mainly because of the tractor with a harvester for mowing grass, which was something that the leaders could pay attention to.

Unexpectedly, this question actually led to other questions. Tursun couldn't help but raise his voice:
"Don't you know that those things can be sold for money? Why did you just give them to that Han Chinese for nothing?"

He felt nothing when he said this, and Adili also felt nothing. After all, in their opinion, wouldn't it be stupid to give away valuable things that you could keep for yourself?

But when Yushanjiang and Halimu heard these words, their meaning changed.

The other herdsmen also looked at him unfriendly.

Although they are under the management of the pastoral team, they still do the main work themselves, which is not much different from the previous practice of moving pastures in winter and summer, cutting grass in autumn, and washing sheep in spring.

The biggest boost the pastoral team brings to them is that they collect sheep regularly so that they have a fixed income; they provide certain security for their families, so that the elderly and children do not have to suffer on the summer pastures; there is a place to wash the sheep, and someone to collect the wool, etc.

For people like Halimu who have elderly and children at home and hope that their children can go to school, it is better, but for young people, the feeling is not so deep.

Instead, they were deeply impressed by the help and exchanges provided by Li Long.

So as soon as Tursun said this, before Halimu and Yushanjiang said anything, the young herdsmen looked at him unfriendly.

Yushanjiang pushed the two herdsmen aside, walked up to Tuersun and said:

"Captain Tuersun, we know those things can be sold for money. However, we gave them to Li Long willingly. It has nothing to do with money, because when Li Long came to cut grass for us last year, we didn't give him anything and he didn't ask for money. He is a friend to us, a real friend.

So, these things, when we gave them to him, were gifts, and it had nothing to do with money or not. "

Tursun didn't realize that he had incurred public anger yet, and was still cursing in his heart that these herdsmen were so stupid. Couldn't they sell such good things for money and then use the money to hire people to cut grass?

"Do you think we are stupid?" Halimu was not as good-tempered as Yushanjiang. Among these people, he was the first to know Li Long and benefited the most from the exchange with Li Long, so he had no good words to say:
“I tell you, Li Long said more than once that he took advantage of us and that what we gave him was very valuable—but we were willing to do it!

I know why you are here. Just because we use tractors to cut grass, do you also want other herders to use tractors when cutting grass? Don’t other people have leather, jade, or antlers?

Why don't they just exchange the money and hire someone to cut the grass? Is this a problem that can be solved with money?
Let me tell you, when Li Long first exchanged supplies with us, he had already told us clearly that he was taking advantage, but we felt that it was actually us who were taking advantage!
There are so many things in the mountains. Haven't we thought about going out to exchange them for rice, flour, brick tea, salt, and sugar? But we can't exchange them, or we get cheated. Some people can't even speak Chinese well. Who will exchange them for us? Have your herdsmen come to exchange them for us? "

Halimu's words resonated with the other young men. Many of them had only learned Mandarin in the past two years because of Li Long's visit. They could not speak it before.

If you can't speak Mandarin, even if you go down the mountain to find someone to exchange money, people won't understand you, and you'll be easily cheated, suspected, or defrauded.

In the two years that Li Long was here, they felt that the exchange was really fair, and Li Long would take the initiative to help them do things.

Last year's grass cutting, this year's water pipes, plus this sheep washing pool, after doing all these things, even a fool can see that Li Long is really helping them improve their lives.

Even though Li Long would say that he was taking advantage every time he gave them something, they were willing to let Li Long take advantage.

And in their opinion, they are actually getting the upper hand.

Tursun was very angry, but he had nothing to say.

He actually felt guilty. The animal husbandry team was established, what did the superiors ask them to do? The leaders of the Animal Husbandry Bureau also told them that the team leaders should think carefully about how to ensure the production and life of the herdsmen.

What was the result? Tuerxun turned a deaf ear to this advice. In his opinion, those tribes with more people should take better care of them, and his own tribe should take better care of them. As for the small tribe like Yushanjiang, they have been living like this for dozens or hundreds of years anyway, so it's no big deal.

That’s how it should be for now.

If it weren't for the mechanical grass cutting, Tursun would never have made a special trip here.

Then this was like stirring up a hornet's nest. What he didn't care about was a major event in life for ordinary herdsmen.

Halimu's words made Tursun embarrassed, and Adili hurried over to smooth things over:
"The team leader is here. Our animal husbandry team has only been established for two years, so we have to do things one by one. Halim, aren't your mother and children studying in the animal husbandry team? The team also regularly collects your sheep and wool and gives you money - aren't we doing all these things? Let's do it step by step!"

Adili was quite good, at least he left a good impression on these herdsmen, so Halimu didn't say anything else.

Yushan Jiang knew that these topics could not be expanded. If they were expanded, it would only lead to quarrels, so he said:

"Captain, you are here for this harvester to cut grass, right? We can't control Li Long. We will need this harvester with the tractor for at least half a month..."

Tursun's face turned unhappy when he heard that it would take them half a month, because the other herdsmen would not have much time left.

However, Yushan Jiang's next words gave him hope:
"I heard from Li Long that he organized several tractors, all with harvesters. So if you want other herders to use harvesters to cut grass, you can discuss it with Li Long when he comes tomorrow. If he agrees to cut grass for them, that's fine - as for the remuneration, you can discuss it among yourselves. It's also okay if he doesn't want the money."

Tuersun looked better after hearing this. Halimu's words just now made him feel a little embarrassed, so after listening to it, he and Adili left.

After they left, Halimu couldn't help but complain to Yushanjiang:

"What advice do you give them? What if Li Long really doesn't want to be paid to cut grass for them? Wouldn't that mean they are working for nothing?"

"Don't worry," Yushanjiang patted Halimu's shoulder and said with a smile, "Do you think Li Long would be so stupid? Don't worry, Li Long will ask for a fair price."

After saying that, Yushan Jiang waved his hand:

"Okay, let's continue. I'll cut grass, and if you can, go hunting. If you don't want to eat dry naan at night, then try to find something delicious..."

These herdsmen immediately went about their business.

Halimu was not happy thinking that Tursun would come again tomorrow. He could clean up his pasture today, so he planned to go to the pasture on the other side of Yushan River tomorrow, out of sight, out of mind.

But on second thought, it wasn't a good idea. He had to remind Li Long. Although Yushanjiang said that Li Long was not stupid, Halimu was still worried that Li Long would be fooled.

Tursun was originally a herdsman from another tribe. Later, for other reasons, he became a team leader, and then a squad leader and a team leader.

Due to policy reasons, a certain proportion of ethnic minority cadres is required, so he currently has the final say in the pastoral team.

Halimu Yushanjiang and the others knew that when Tursun was the captain, he took good care of his own people, but Halimu and the others didn't care. They just lived their own lives well.

But it was obvious that Tursun wanted to trick Li Long, and Halimu absolutely could not tolerate this.

Li Long went back to do his own thing and was unaware of the troubles that had occurred in the mountains after he left.

The next day, after breakfast, Li Long played with his two babbling children for a while before driving the jeep to the mountains.

When he passed Qingshui River, he found that the village had become much quieter. The wheat harvest here was almost complete, and most of the grain had been paid, and the rest were mostly working in the fields.

In addition to wheat, crops grown in Qingshui River also include corn and rapeseed, which are used more frequently in daily life and can provide food and clothing for the family. As for cash crops, they cannot be grown on a large scale at present, and farmers with less land are unwilling to grow them. After all, they want to eat more fine grains first.

Further ahead, large areas of Sphagnum Spinach have grown out. The cherries have completely spread out, and the stems have turned from green to bluish-white. It looks like they are almost ready to be harvested.

Stipa acuta carries many memories for Li Long, or it could be said that this is the case for people of this generation.

When the new stems of Sphagnum Splendens have just grown out and have not yet produced cherries, children will be very happy to pull them out, because its roots are tender and sweet, and are one of the few snacks for children in this season.

In winter, the uncut Sphagnum Reed became a good thing for the boys to use for starting a fire. They would gather a handful of Sphagnum Reed in their hands, light the bottom with a match, and the dry stems of the Sphagnum Reed on top would be burned off. The handful would become a torch. If they squeezed it tightly and blew on it, it would start a bright flame. If they squeezed it loosely, it would just smolder. They could then use it to start a fire in other piles of Sphagnum Reed.

At this time, if you bring two potatoes and put them directly into the burning pile of sedge, and wait for the fire to go out, the potatoes will be cooked after a while. Although they are black on the outside, they are crunchy and fragrant on the inside.

Li Long can still see some Achnatherum splendens with slightly black roots, which are the ones that were burned last year. The burned Achnatherum splendens will grow new Achnatherum splendens faster, just like reeds, if the old ones are cut off, the new ones will grow without burden.

Going further in, they arrived at Hongshanzui. Li Long thought that since Yushanjiang and his men could drive the tractor themselves, he went to the wooden house to see if there was anything going on there.

The wooden house is his "home" in the mountains, and he doesn't want this place to be destroyed by those wanderers in the mountains.

When he arrived at the wooden house, Li Long found that the door lock was in good condition and there were signs that someone had walked in, but in the end no one pried the door open and disturbed him.

Not bad.

There was less firewood and coal in the shed, and someone had moved the stove, so they might have burned a fire there.

Li Long looked around and wondered whether he should build a simple open house nearby for some people to live in, so that no one would come and pry the door open.

Think more.

He got in the jeep again and drove to Halimu's winter camp.

As soon as the jeep arrived in front of the winter camp, he saw Tursun and Adili.

Li Long knew Adili, but he had never seen Tursun. But to be honest, even if he had never seen them, seeing the positions of Adili and Tursun, Li Long could roughly guess that this one was at least the captain of the pastoral team, and maybe even a higher position.

Yushanjiang was not there, and neither were the other herdsmen. Only Halimu was at the stove, probably cooking meat.

Li Long could see that Halimu and Adili were standing quite far away from each other, and they didn't even communicate with each other. From a distance, Halimu's expression didn't look very good, and Li Long roughly understood what was going on.

In order to show his sincerity, Tursun and Adili came along the road to greet the jeep when they saw it, with smiles on their faces.

He thought that Li Long would drive the jeep up to him and stop, but he didn't expect that Li Long's jeep would pass him by and drive directly to the door of the winter nest.

Halimu, who had been paying attention to the situation here, couldn't help but laugh, then he turned around quickly, not wanting Tursun and Adili to see it.

Li Long got off the jeep and asked quietly before Tursun and Adili came over:
"Are they here to cut the grass with the harvester?"

"Yes, just ask for the money, don't be polite to them!" Halimu also said in a low voice.

Li Long then understood that this stranger probably had a bad relationship with Adili and Halimu.

Well, since the other party came to him on his own initiative, Li Long had to consider what kind of knife to use to charge the guest.

It is not the harvest season for melons yet, so it should not be difficult to spare more than ten days. Li Long himself is not short of money, but the big brother, Xie Yundong, and Tao Daqiang on the team certainly have not earned enough money.

If we can really negotiate and let them cut grass, wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?

Li Long turned and faced Tursun and Adili who were walking over.

As the middleman, Adili took the initiative to introduce Li Long:

"Hello, Comrade Li Long. This is Tuerxun, the captain of our animal husbandry team. He has known you for a long time, but he has never met you because he is busy with work."

"Hello, Captain Tuersun." Li Long shook hands with him politely. "How come you have time to come here today? Are you here to see Halim and the others cutting grass?"

"Yes, yes. We heard that you used a tractor with a harvester to mow grass for them, so we were very curious, so we came to take a look." Tuerxun was ignored by Li Long's jeep just now. Although he was a little angry, he was the captain after all, so he smiled and said as if nothing had happened:

"I also hope that Comrade Li Long can support the other herders in their grass-cutting work. You are familiar with Halimu Yusanjiang and the others, and you should know that grass-cutting is very tiring. It takes a month to do it, and it is very hard!"

"Yes, it is indeed very hard work." Li Long responded, then turned to ask Halim, "What kind of meat is cooked in the pot?"

"Zak and Talihar shot a wild goat yesterday afternoon."

"Very good, very good," Li Long nodded with a smile, and then said to Tuersun, "It just so happens that the captain and the vice-captain are here, let's try this wild goat meat, it has a unique flavor."

Seeing that Li Long did not respond, Tuersun was a little unhappy, but Adili reacted quickly and said directly to Li Long:

"Comrade Li Long, I know you work in the county and know a lot of people. Can you introduce other people to help the other herders in our team cut grass..."

Li Long's machine is here to cut grass, there is definitely no way to take it away. Adili thought very clearly, and Yushanjiang said it very clearly yesterday. He spoke now because he was afraid that Tursun would get angry and say something wrong, thus ruining a good thing.

After all, he also has a group of acquaintances who want to use tractors to mow the grass, which can save a lot of time and not make people so tired.

"We have people and machines. But everyone is busy working in the fields right now and has no time to come and cut grass for you... They know me, and I can't let them come here for nothing, right?" Li Long pointed out the essence of the problem.

"I have a good relationship with Halimu Yushanjiang and his people. It's no problem for me to cut grass for them for free. I have nothing to do with other herders. Besides, Halimu and his people felt bad and gave me a lot of things. So, you guys take a look at this matter."

After Li Long said this, both Adili and Yushanjiang understood that it was impossible to get something for nothing.

"Then how much do you charge?" Tursun had been feeling a little aggrieved. Now that Li Long had spoken out the practicalities, he felt relieved. At most he could just negotiate the price.

"We harvest wheat, and we earn two yuan per acre." Li Long said slowly.

"What? Two dollars? Isn't that too expensive?" Tursun shouted angrily.

The main reason is that the herders’ pastures are different from their cultivated land and are generally larger.

For example, Halimu has 300 acres of grassland.

According to Li Long's price, he would have to pay 600 yuan per person.

There are other pastures that are larger than theirs, and some are over a thousand acres.

If we use a harvester to harvest such a large grassland, how much will it cost?

"I'm telling the truth. You can go to the county and ask for the price." Li Long said, "Of course, if you really want our people to harvest, then I can lower the price. After all, supporting herders is what we should do."

How much can it be reduced? Tursun's heart began to pound. (End of this chapter)